[Added by Ord. No. 87-52; amended by Ord. No.
97-5]
In order to protect the public health and promote the general
welfare of the residents of this City, the Common Council hereby finds
and declares that it is necessary to create, in the exercise of its
police power, this article for the purpose of preventing unused, unsafe
and/or improperly constructed wells from serving as a passage for
contaminated surface or near-surface waters or other materials to
reach the usable groundwater so that these passages may be eliminated
by properly filling and sealing abandoned private wells within the
boundaries of the City.
A.
All private wells located on any premises which are served by the
public water system of the City of Watertown shall be properly filled
and sealed immediately after the building or structure on said premises
shall be connected with the municipal system. The provisions of this
subsection expressly do not apply to the private wells constructed
by Wis-Pak, Inc., in 1996, as long as Wis-Pak, Inc., is in compliance
with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources permits, City of
Watertown permits and the written agreement entered into between the
City and Wis-Pak, Inc.
B.
Only those private wells for which a well operation permit has been
granted by the Director of the Watertown Water Department may be exempted
from this requirement, subject to the conditions of maintenance and
operation as specified in said permit. The Watertown Water Department
shall only issue permits for those buildings or structures located
within the corporate City limits of the City of Watertown wherein
it is impossible to extend water mains to the property. The purpose
of this article is to preserve the quality of the underground aquifer
which the Department utilizes to provide potable water to its customers.
C.
If any such private well for which a well operation permit has been
granted subsequently becomes abandoned or ceases operation, the owner
of said real estate upon which the well is located shall have 90 days
from the date of abandonment or termination of operation to fill and
seal such private well pursuant to this article.
[Amended 4-3-2017 by Ord.
No. 17-7]
A well operation permit may be granted to a well owner to operate
a well for a five-year period of time and a renewal fee set by Public
Works Commission if the following requirements are met:
A.
The well and pump installation meet the requirements of the Wisconsin
Administrative Code and a well constructor's report is on file with
the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, or a certification
of the acceptability of the well has been granted by the Department
of Natural Resources and extension of the municipal water utility
mains to the property in question cannot be accomplished.
B.
The well has a history of producing safe water and presently produces
bacteriologically safe water as evidenced by three samplings taken
two weeks apart and submitted with the application for the well operation
permit.
C.
The proposed use of the well can be justified as being necessary
due to the fact that the municipal supply cannot be extended to the
property in question.
D.
No physical connection shall or will exist between the piping of
the City of Watertown Water Department and the private well.
Wells to be abandoned shall be filled according to the procedures
outlined in the Wisconsin Administrative Code, including but not limited
to the following:
A well abandonment report must be submitted by the well owner
to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources on forms provided
by that agency and available at the office of the Watertown Water
Department. The report shall be submitted immediately upon completion
of the filling of the well. The filling must be observed by a representative
of the City of Watertown Water Department.
Any person, firm, corporation, partnership or any other well owner violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be punished by a forfeiture as provided in § 1-4 of the Watertown Code. Each twenty-four-hour period of time during which time such a violation exists or continues to exist shall be deemed and shall constitute a separate offense punishable under this section.
